Mannheim Executive MBA (Part-Time)

Equipped for International Top Management

You are well-educated and have already made great strides professionally. Now you want to prepare yourself for the next step. In that case, the Mannheim Executive MBA is the right choice for you. With one of the best programs of its kind in Europe, we prepare you for the future challenges you will face in the top echelons of management.

Application for 2021 continues

Recruitment for the next program intake in April 2021 will start in September 2020. An early bird discount of EUR 2,500 will be available at successful admission by the end of December 2020; the final application deadline will be March 1, 2021. Admission to the program is done on a rolling basis. Although classroom teaching is suspended at the moment, selection interviews will continue online.

If you would like a preliminary consultation with the Admissions Manager via skype to discuss your profile, please send an e-mail with your CV and a time slot that would suit you to: vatansever@mannheim-business-school.com. Ms. Vatansever will advise you whether your profile meets the requirements of our Mannheim Executive MBA program.

Please note that these online consultations will take place during our usual office hours on weekdays. These consultations do not start an application process and do not replace the selection interview.

Key Benefits of the Mannheim Executive MBA

Get an excellent value for money

Benefit from professors of one of the best business faculties in the world

Gain up-to-date knowledge in all relevant management disciplines

Choose from a range of electives that are adjusted to current issues and trends

Acquire new tools and concepts readily applicable to the challenges of your job

Grow as a leader and boost your personal development

Benefit from a flexible and convenient curriculum tailored to the needs of busy executives (i.e. core & elective courses can be completed in Mannheim)

Attend electives and Personal Development Days up to three years after graduation

Be inspired by the valuable and lasting high-calibre MBS network of business partners, participants, and alumni

Refine your professional profile and increase your versatility and value to your employer

Further Information

Program Structure

What makes the Mannheim EMBA so unique? And what are the pillars of the program concept?

Alumni Stories

Class Profile

Join a Diverse Group of Professionals

Mannheim Executive MBA participants represent the core values of our school with regard to diversity of work experience, geographical background and a broad range of educational experience. The statistics for an average Mannheim Executive MBA class will give you an impression of the community.
Our participants are on average 37 years old and look back on 12 years in the job after their first degree. 40% of the class are women.

Previous Studies

Business & Economics20%

Engineering & IT47%

Natural Sciences & Medicine18%

Law7%

Humanities/Arts3%

Social Sciences3%

Others2%

Origin

Germany17%

Europe (excl. Germany)25%

Asia/Oceania28%

Latin America15%

North America12%

Africa3%

Perspectives

"The high-level of expectations towards the participants could be met as the group offered motivation and mutual support for delivering the best out of ourselves during the day - and enjoy a great time together in the evening.”

When moving from Brussels to Frankfurt to start her job at DB Netz, the German Rail Infrastructure Company, it very soon became clear to Sophie Ismaier that the project she was in charge of was bearing great business potential still to be unfold, but which would require additional leadership skills and business-oriented competences. At a personal level, she had the feeling that she had made the best use of her public administration profile, strengthened by three years at the European Commission, but yet needed to reach for more. Sophie was looking for enlarging her intellectual horizon to, for her, largely unexplored territories and was eager to meet new people. Therefore, she decided to participate in the Mannheim EMBA Program.

The Mannheim EMBA fulfilled all of her expectations. Sophie values in particular the high quality and practice-oriented training and lectures. She regards her participation in the EMBA Program as the experience of a life time:

“The high-level of expectations towards the participants could be met as the group offered motivation and mutual support for delivering the best out of ourselves during the day - and enjoy a great time together in the evening.”

On a personal level, Sophie appreciates her personal growth and the bonds with the other participants:

“The EMBA gave me a sound self-confidence, strengthened my ability to propose, decide and deliver, and brought me new, long-lasting friendships. It made me a better, and a more resilient professional. In this respect, and even though I largely self-financed the program and attended it on my holidays, I regret neither a cent nor a day. I would do it all over again.”

Today, Sophie works as a project manager for DB Netz.

"I think everything starts as a personal challenge; the simple fact of moving out of your comfort zone and realizing your dream is already a major success. The EMBA gives your more than the theory; it is the experience of meeting superheroes and superwomen."

Some of us were driven by fear of not knowing if the EMBA was a good choice, people out there may have asked ’why’? Others, ‘do you think that an EMBA will ensure success?’ I think everything starts as a personal challenge; the simple fact of moving out of your comfort zone and realizing your dream is already a major success.

The EMBA gives your more than the theory; it is the experience of meeting superheroes and superwomen. The weekends at MBS for the last 18 months have been hard but you have made them worth. Thanks to the superheroes for your kindness, professionalism, knowledge and before all for being gentlemen, and thanks to the superwomen for being a live example than women can reach high, making me realize that we did not come this far to stay this far, that it is just the beginning.

“Joining the EMBA means being part of an international high level ecosystem combined with high quality German standards. Thanks to this once in a lifetime experience, I had the privilege to enhance a systematic strategic leadership, while keeping the focus on a sustainable operational excellence.”

Before his Executive MBA, Davide had graduated in Business Administration at Bocconi University and had joined the fashion division of the luxury group LVMH. He had already built a successful career there and was Finance Director of the LVMH Watches and Jewelry business group when he felt the need to push his limits and move out of his comfort zone. Doing an EMBA seemed the ideal challenge. He chose the ESSEC & MANNHEIM EMBA in the weekend format (now the Mannheim EMBA), in order to be able to keep playing in the first league.

“I always strive for the best – and both ESSEC and Mannheim Business School have an excellent reputation, not only in France and Germany but also internationally. Moreover, I was attracted by the high diversity of the EMBA participants in terms of cultural, professional, and industry backgrounds.

The EMBA helped me develop a strong entrepreneurial mind and encouraged me to embrace risk and innovation in a more open way. All my fellow participants showed a high level of ambition, commitment, and dedication, which fostered my learning agility and my desire to keep moving forward. Moreover, the strong focus on teamwork motivated me to develop a business dynamic based on continuous learning, including feedback, design thinking, and team coaching. The whole EMBA experience made me understand how important it is to network and build a community based on excellence, common goals and challenges.

The support of one’s company is an important aspect for being successful in an EMBA program. I am very thankful to LVMH, who invest with energy in people development, and who encourage and welcome creative people with a pragmatic business approach.”

The EMBA also meant a career leap for Davide. Directly after graduation, he was promoted to General Manager Operations. He now leads a multi-cultural and multi-competence team of 100, dealing with ten European countries.

“Thanks to the EMBA, I assess situations now more from a management point of view and in a very structured way. In our extremely fast changing world, in which traditional industries can be disrupted overnight, I now feel prepared to take the right decisions for the future. Last but not least, I can get in contact with my fellows and friends from all around the world who are part of the large alumni network of Mannheim Business School. All in all, I think the EMBA was the best investment in my future.”

Before he applied in Mannheim, Bernd compared several EMBA programs, making sure to choose one in which time and money would be well invested. “One reason I chose Mannheim Business School was the internationality of the participants and the emphasis on team work. I enjoy working in very diverse and international teams and Mannheim’s philosophy was just right for me. During the program, participants spend a lot of time working on demanding and interesting cases with experienced classmates from a lot of different backgrounds. In addition, the program and the school have an excellent reputation, not only in Germany but also internationally.”

The program format with classes every second weekend provided him moreover with the possibility to balance the EMBA and his job, especially as he was frequently travelling during the week at work in a Sales role. Even during the program, he was able to take on higher responsibilities in his job and increase his salary.

After completing the program, Bernd feels he can tackle his tasks with confidence: “Thanks to the EMBA, I assess situations now more from a management point of view and in a very structured way. In our extremely fast changing world, in which traditional industries can be disrupted overnight, I now feel prepared to take the right decisions for the future. Last but not least, I can get in contact with my fellows and friends from all around the world who are part of the large alumni network of Mannheim Business School. All in all, I think the EMBA was the best investment in my future.”

“I'm a firm believer in continuous learning and the Executive MBA program provided an amazingly inspiring learning composition, including seminars, workshops, lectures as well as other helpful methods. I believe that great things happen by connecting the right people.”

Thomas Saueressig is Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE for SAP Product Engineering and was the youngest CIO amongst DAX companies. He explains how he uses the skills he learned during the Mannheim Executive MBA in his work at SAP.

Like all companies, SAP is undergoing a massive digital transformation – and nowhere more urgently than in its IT department. As the then youngest CIO of all companies in the DAX, Thomas Saueressig relied daily on the skills he learned in the Executive MBA to lead the company’s internal transformation.

“I'm a firm believer in continuous learning and the Executive MBA program provided an amazingly inspiring learning composition, including seminars, workshops, lectures as well as other helpful methods,” says Thomas.

SAP’s ongoing digitalization – including a shift to the cloud – requires a complete change in mindset. To achieve this, leaders need to model the behavior they require from employees. This includes demonstrating how the company and individuals can benefit from change.

“During the MBA, with the help of the classmates, professors and coaches, I was able to reflect critically on my behaviors and to challenge myself.” Now Thomas, who started at SAP in 2004 as a student in the company’s dual work-education program, has developed his own management style built on authenticity and trust. Creating the right spirit, culture and mindset in the team is key and he places a lot of value on empowerment and employee development.

Thomas has had broad experience leading multiple teams in SAP’s IT organization and working in a global environment requires particular skills. He particularly enjoyed and benefited from international orientation of Mannheim Business School and the clear focus on cultural specifics in business, which helped to enhance his leadership skills and cultural sensitivity.

As an active networker, Thomas appreciated how the MBA program allowed him to develop close contacts to leaders in many other companies. He also found the cross-coaching and mentoring between his MBA classmates to be of tremendous value. “I believe that great things happen by connecting the right people.”

Despite Thomas' challenging role at SAP, he found the curriculum fitted his work schedule, thanks to the bi-weekly classes on Fridays and Saturdays and he was able to manage both.

When he was SAP CIO, Thomas was creating a user-centric IT organization, with the twin goals of delivering great user and customer experiences, while changing the perception of IT. “In the digital economy, entrepreneurial spirit and experience are crucial to success. I found the entrepreneurial project in the MBA both exciting and inspiring, and I am working to foster an entrepreneurship culture at SAP.”

"Since the EMBA I have more confidence in myself and my leadership abilities. It is sometimes challenging being a younger woman in a leading position, and I feel the EMBA provided me with a solid base of business concepts, presentation techniques and leaderships skills which gave me the confidence I needed to discuss, negotiate and interact with a variety of business professionals in high level positions. In the leadership workshops and exercises I also gained experience and tools to be a good leader and motivate my employees."

When her employer, DCL International, Inc., asked Tawnya VanGroningen to move from Canada to Germany to develop and grow the European business, she already held a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and had 7 years of work experience at the company in technical, sales and management roles. Still, she felt that she lacked a solid knowledge of business concepts which were necessary to succeed in this new position.

Tawnya VanGroningen, who worked as Sales Manager for Europe at DCL at the time, evaluated different schools and programs and chose the Mannheim EMBA. It appealed to her as it not only provided courses on every important subject related to business but also different methods and ways to present the information, including leadership camps, seminars, lectures, workshops and a variety of lecturers from both academia and business. Tawnya VanGroningen was convinced that the strong focus on multi-cultural and multi-competence group work would further enhance her leadership skills as businesses become more international and working with colleagues of different cultural background becomes more important. In addition to this, the three residencies located in France, USA and Asia appealed to her as it was an opportunity to gain hands-on experience for learning business concepts from different cultural backgrounds.

Tawnya VanGroningen also appreciated the time format:

"Another advantage of the program is the length of 18 months and scheduled classes every other Friday and Saturday. This was a schedule I could sustain in my personal life and my company could agree with while I was working a full-time position."

The EMBA provided her with personal and professional benefits:

"Since the EMBA I have more confidence in myself and my leadership abilities. It is sometimes challenging being a younger woman in a leading position, and I feel the EMBA provided me with a solid base of business concepts, presentation techniques and leaderships skills which gave me the confidence I needed to discuss, negotiate and interact with a variety of business professionals in high level positions. In the leadership workshops and exercises I also gained experience and tools to be a good leader and motivate my employees."

She regards the program as one of the best experiences of her life:

"It was a challenging 18 months but I learned a lot about myself. It helped me identify my strengths, improve my weakness, fine-tune my time management and organizational skills and build relationships with classmates of different cultural backgrounds and professions. The skills, contacts, and memories I made during the Mannheim EMBA program will stay with me for the rest of my life and guide me through the remainder of my career!"

Today Tawnya VanGroningen is Managing Director of the European subsidiary of DCL International Inc., DCL Europe GmbH.

"One major motivation to do an Executive MBA was to fundamentally learn all the theories, tools, and skills that are relevant in business life. To me, choosing the Mannheim EMBA was a natural choice – first because it is the best business school in Germany and one of the best in Europe; second due to the proximity to my current hometown Heidelberg; last but not least due to the interesting curriculum."

When Jörg Bruch started his career with SAP SE, he held a degree in biology and geography, but had no formal education related to his business life. In order to fill this gap after more than ten years of work experience, he decided to join the Mannheim EMBA program:

"One major motivation to do an Executive MBA was to fundamentally learn all the theories, tools, and skills that are relevant in business life. To me, choosing the Mannheim EMBA was a natural choice – first because it is the best business school in Germany and one of the best in Europe; second due to the proximity to my current hometown Heidelberg; last but not least due to the interesting curriculum."

Bruch values the impact his MBA degree has made on his business life:

"The learnings are really helpful in my day-to-day business life, now having a solid background in Corporate Finance, Financial Accounting and many other disciplines. I also found myself reconfirmed in my leadership role, not only within my company but in a group of other executives from different companies and industries with really diverse backgrounds. Finally making so many new connections to other executives, not only in my class but through the Alumni network of MBS also to many others, is a real value in itself."

Bruch's biggest take-away from the Mannheim EMBA program:

"A kind of 'I can do' attitude – going 'back to school,' managing all the lectures and assignments besides my normal work and eventually graduating after eighteen months was a great re-confirmation that I can still learn very efficiently and that I can achieve something great. Also the Entrepreneurial Project was a really changing experience that is hard to gain in a corporate environment. Keeping this entrepreneurial thinking for my work in a corporate environment alive is definitely something that puts the question of value in the center of the work."

While before the degree, his daily business was mainly operational and related to budgets, processes and formal HR topics, Jörg Bruch took on additional responsibility after his MBA - first as Vice President and COO of a large development unit within SAP and now as Head of IT Operations, responsible for the operation of all SAP business systems worldwide.

"The excellent reputation of the Mannheim EMBA program and the possibility to work closely together with executives from a wide range of professional and educational fields were the decisive factors for my decision to participate in the program.”

Mirko Strube started his career as Inhouse Consultant at MVV Energie AG and was convinced that in order to take his career to the next level he needed to expand on his leadership skills. For him, becoming a member of the Mannheim EMBA Class of 2008 was the logical consequence:

"The excellent reputation of the Mannheim EMBA program and the possibility to work closely together with executives from a wide range of professional and educational fields were the decisive factors for my decision to participate in the program.”

Strube considers his expectations towards the program more than met:

“Besides the profound education, the most important aspect of the program was the intense team experience: without feedback and self-reflection it is hardly possible to grow – as a person and as a leader. Looking back, I can say that I learned as much from my peers as I did from my professors.”

His biggest take-away from the Mannheim Executive-MBA program:

“Acknowledging and appreciating the value of past experiences, learning from mistakes and establishing an environment of trust and mutual support.”

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MANNHEIM BUSINESS SCHOOL (MBS)

Located in the heart of the German and European economy, Mannheim Business School (MBS), the umbrella organization for management education at the University of Mannheim, is considered to be one of the leading institutions of its kind in Germany and is continuously ranked as Germany’s #1.